Abstract
Chronic stress leads to disruptions in learning and memory processes. The effects of chronic stress experience on the adult zebrafish brain, particularly the memory associated telencephalon brain region, is unclear. The goal of this study was to identify gene expression changes in the adult zebrafish brain triggered by chronic unpredictable stress. Transcriptome analysis of the telencephalon revealed 155 differentially expressed genes. Of these genes, some are critical genes involved in learning and memory, such as cdk5 and chrna7, indicating effects of chronic unpredictable stress on zebrafish memory. Interestingly, several genes were annotated in the Orange domain, which is an amino acid sequence present in eukaryotic DNA-binding transcription repressors. Furthermore, we identified hsd11b2, a cortisol inactivating gene, as chronic stress-responsive in the whole zebrafish brain. Collectively, these findings suggest that memory associated gene expression changes in adult zebrafish telencephalon are affected by chronic stress experience.
Highlights
Stress experience and anxiety affect physiology, behavior, and brain gene expression across many taxa
In the zebrafish telencephalon, which includes memory-related brain regions homologous to the mammalian hippocampus and amygdala[8,9], chronic unpredictable stress can increase mineralocorticoid, and glucocorticoid receptor gene expression as well as thin dendritic spine formation, which are involved in learning and memory[4,6,10]
Draxin was described in rodents to regulate hippocampal organization and neurogenesis, but has not yet been described as stress responsive in zebrafish or mammals[25]
Summary
Stress experience and anxiety affect physiology, behavior, and brain gene expression across many taxa. Stress response is a short-term adaptation to challenges in the environment, when prolonged, leads to detrimental pathologies and learning and memory impairment[1,2]. These health and behavioral consequences are reflected in gene expression changes in the brain, in regions involved in cognitive processes such as the hippocampal region[3,4]. In the zebrafish telencephalon, which includes memory-related brain regions homologous to the mammalian hippocampus and amygdala[8,9], chronic unpredictable stress can increase mineralocorticoid, and glucocorticoid receptor gene expression as well as thin dendritic spine formation, which are involved in learning and memory[4,6,10]. Anxiety have been demonstrated, chronic stress-induced transcriptomic changes have not been examined in either the whole brain or telencephalon region
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